Introducing the interactive computer at work: The users' views

Abstract This study had two aims: (i) to document the problem of interface usability in terms of the users' views and (ii) to characterize the context within which usability operates by identifying the general set of variables underlying the attitudes of both users and non-users to the introduction of an interactive computer system into their place of work. The particular system studied included an interactive planning package designed for professionals with no programming skills. An in-depth discussion technique was used to collect the views of 16 professional employees working for a large local authority. A total of 440 ‘statements’ were classified in a hierarchy (main headings: pre-planning introduction; effects of the system; use of the system; assessment of the system; general attitudes). Twenty-seven variables (e.g. decisionmaking involvement; skill change; specialist language) and nine contexts over which they operated (e.g. computer applications; departmental relations) were generated from the sta...